


against the current, but always with you

by Mileniummfalcon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Badass Katara (Avatar), But probably not how you think it'll go, Dubious Japanese Translations, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Katara's been through too much to be mean to him, So much eye contact, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, mutual angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 06:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15746289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mileniummfalcon/pseuds/Mileniummfalcon
Summary: It's been five years since Katara left the Jaeger program behind, and five years since her brother died. She's returned to her home in Anchorage, keeping her head down and finding work on the project that will eclipse the Jaeger program.Until, of course, the Kaiju break through the wall in Sydney in 30 minutes flat.A visit from an old general convinces her to join him one last time, but she knows that returning to the Gipsy Danger won't be easy.For starters, she'll need to find a co-pilot.





	against the current, but always with you

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy this blatant Pacific Rim AU, inspired by some Zutara Week artwork. Please don't hold me accountable for the Japanese, but do feel free to correct me if possible.

**********

 

_ When I was a kid, whenever I'd feel small or lonely...I'd look up at the stars. I wondered if there was life up there. Turns out I was looking in the wrong direction. When alien life entered our world, it was from deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. A fissure between two tectonic plates. A portal between dimensions. The Breach. _

 

_ I was 14 when the first Kaiju made land in San Francisco. Six days and 35 miles later, three cities were destroyed, and tens of thousands of lives were lost. Then, months later, the second attack hit Manila. Then the third hit Cabo. Then the fourth. Then we learned...this was not going to stop. To fight the monsters, we created monsters of our own. The Jaeger program was born, a two-pilot system designed to stop the Kaijus.  _

 

_ We got really good at it. Winning.  _

 

_ Then… _

 

_ Then it all changed.  _

 

**********

 

Katara still remembers seeing the footage of the first Kaiju attack, sitting with her brother Sokka in front of their TV in their Anchorage home. They were amazed, and scared, and glad that it was happening so far from home.

 

Except their parents were in San Francisco that day, for work. 

 

They never came back. 

 

It was Sokka’s brilliant idea to join the Jaeger program, but Katara couldn’t let him do that. Not alone, anyway. It was her job to take care of him now, and she knew that he’d do something stupid if he went off alone. 

 

When they enlisted, the recruitment officer had sneered at her and said, “hon, are you sure you want to sign up? Women aren’t strong enough to be Jaeger pilots, everyone knows that.”

 

His supervisor eagerly recruited them after she laid the officer out in a manner of seconds, and attached a note to their file that read  _ ‘Becket siblings- not to be separated’. _

 

And so they became pilots. Sokka acted as the right hemisphere, he was the right hand, the sword, while Katara controlled the rocket-boosted left arm. They shot to stardom together, which unnerved them both to some degree-- they were just a couple kids from Anchorage trying to do the right thing-- but Sokka learned that he liked the spotlight-- “ _ Check out my Super Awesome Sword of Alien Justice!! Well, it’s a human-sized replica, but you should see the real thing!”--  _ and Katara learned that she liked to help cities rebuild. They traveled around the Pacific Rim in a few short years, saving cities and killing Kaijus, learning how to calm themselves in the Drift and becoming closer than ever.  __

 

So it hurt even more when Katara lost her brother while defending the Alaskan coast. 

 

He was ripped out of her mind, her body, she could feel his limbs being torn apart by the teeth of the Kaiju, she heard the scream in his mind before he could even yell and--

 

He was gone, and she fell into the water, into the cold blackness near the shore, but not before her own mind took over both sides of the Jaeger, and she finally held the sword in her own hand. Sokka’s scream echoed in her voice as she hacked brutally into the monster’s body, her mind blank and overpowered. The water, washing in uneven waves over the ancient sand, was now blue with the electric blood of Knifehead, and the beast fell with her as the Gipsy Danger finally crashed to land, and Katara closed her eyes, imagining two small children swimming in the same water, so many years ago.

 

When she woke, she was half of a person and had been released from her duties with all the honors of a fallen soldier. 

 

Because, truth be told, she was. 

 

**********

 

In the five years since Sokka died, Katara had returned to a normal life. She watches the Kaiju outgrow the Jaegers, and slowly, station by station, the Jaeger program is shut down in favor of a coastal wall.

 

She gets a job. 

 

Katara works on the wall outside of Anchorage and thinks of the city that she has already saved at the cost of her brother’s life. 

 

She wonders often if it was worth it. 

 

She works harder, as if trying to apologize for these thoughts. 

 

She’s hooked up to the scaffolding on the frozen Alaskan coast, watching the water on the horizon catch the falling snow, when a relay of workers tell her she’s needed below. She begins the long climb down. She’s not surprised; she had seen the helicopter land. 

 

“Ms. Becket.” 

 

“General Pentecost.”

 

She looks at the man she used to know, older now. She sees the loss in his eyes, but thinks that she is the only one who could. She recognizes it in her own reflection. 

 

“It’s good to see you, Katara.” His familiar face crinkles with a warm smile, and she pauses. She knows why he’s here, and that the choice that she has to make should be difficult. 

 

Except...it really isn’t.  

 

“You too, Iroh.”

 

Soon after, she walks away from the wall, and boards the helicopter bound for Hong Kong. Iroh tells her that the four remaining Jaegers are also being transported the last functioning Shatterdome there. 

 

Marshal Iroh Pentecost is collecting the survivors. 

 

**********

 

It’s raining when she steps off onto the main deck of the Shatterdome, and a figure in a long, black raincoat walks to the ramp. The umbrella shielding his face shifts back, and Katara meets a pair of strikingly golden eyes. She doesn’t blink as his eyes hold hers, and she wonders if he’s challenging her to recoil at the ugly red scar that engulfs his left eye. 

 

She doesn’t. 

 

“Katara,” Iroh begins, “Let me introduce you to Zuko Mori.”

 

After a moment, Zuko’s eyes move to Iroh. He speaks in a raspy voice.

 

“私の叔父さん、私は彼女を別に想像しました.”

 

_ Uncle, I imagined her differently.  _

 

“Hey…” Katara smirks, not moving her eyes from his face, “良くも悪くも?”

 

_ Better or worse? _

 

He starts, his eyes flicking back to hers, and a flush threatens to color his ears under his messy black hair.

 

“失礼しました、あなたの話をよく聞いたんものですから.”

 

_ I apologize, I’ve heard a lot about you. _

 

Katara smiles at the concession and nods her head in respect, and Zuko copies, their eyes still locked.

 

Iroh watches the interaction with interest and no small amount of resignation.

 

**********

 

After Iroh tells her that his plan is to seal the breach using all the explosives that the program can get its hands on, Katara needs to take a walk. 

 

“Ms. Becket,” Zuko calls from just behind her, “I’ll show you to your Jaeger now.” 

 

It’s a short journey to the bay that Gipsy Danger is held in, but the sight alone takes Katara’s breath away. 

 

“Wow,” she breathes, and Zuko watches the emotions pass over her face, “I never thought I’d see her again...she looks like new.”

 

There’s a deep sadness as she examines the face of the Jaeger, and, for just a minute, she hears Sokka’s voice when they first saw the Danger all those years ago.

 

_ Hey Katara, check it out! We get a sword! Good thing I trained with Piando, huh? _

 

Zuko cuts into her thoughts with a gentle voice, still watching her, “She’s better than new, actually. I gave her a double-core nuclear reactor. She’s one of a kind now.” 

 

Katara thinks of the necklace that Sokka had hidden in an empty compartment of the cockpit before their first mission, and sighs, turning finally to look at Zuko.

 

“She always was.” 

 

They turn together, and Zuko leads her back the way they came, heading now towards the barracks.

 

Katara swings her bag over her shoulder, and she looks up at his face. “So,” she asks, genuinely curious, “what’s your story? Restoring old Jaegers, showing old has-beens like me around...that can’t just be it. Are you a pilot?”

 

He glances at her before looking resolutely forward. “No. Not yet. But I want to be one...more than anything.”

 

The conviction that his voice holds surprises her before she remembers her own motivations. Her thoughts flick once more to his scar, and, though she won’t ask, she wonders what history that mark holds. 

 

“What’s your simulator score?” she asks.

 

“Fifty-one drops,” he smiles to himself, “fifty-one kills.”

 

Her eyebrows raise. “That’s amazing,” she says, impressed, “but you aren’t one of the candidates tomorrow?”

 

At this, he deflates. 

 

“I am not.”

 

She thinks of when they first met, how he called Iroh “Uncle” when he thought she wouldn’t understand, and thinks that his disqualification was not his own choice. 

 

“The marshal has his reasons,” Zuko says, confirming her thoughts as he leads her to her door, “he always does.”

 

“Sure,” Katara responds, shrugging her shoulder, but she sees the bitterness in his avoidant glances. “But with fifty-one kills, I can’t imagine what they could be.” 

 

As she drops her bag in her new room, she turns to face him fully, and he stops in the door frame. 

 

“I hope you approve of my choices tomorrow, Ms. Becket,” His eyes glance over her clothes, still dirty from the construction, “I’ve studied your fighting techniques and strategies.”

 

She’s never been too keen on criticism, constructive or otherwise, but she’s still intrigued. 

 

“And?” she asks, “What do you think?” 

 

He pauses once more, and their eyes meet. 

 

“I think you’re unpredictable,” he forces out, his face remaining neutral, “you try to prove yourself as more than your brother’s co-pilot. You’ve mastered several combat techniques, but you deviate from all of them. That makes you dangerous as back-up, and almost impossible to find a co-pilot for. I don’t think you’re right for this mission.” His face is hard, but she thinks that he’s worried that his honesty will be rejected. He doesn’t take back his words, though, nor should he. He knows that what he says is accurate. 

 

She almost laughs to herself. Yeah, she’s still not a fan of people criticizing her. She sighs, though. 

 

“Thank you for your honesty.” She squares her shoulders and notices for the first time that the shirt under his long jacket is the same shade of red as his scar. “But I expect that one day,” she continues, finding his eyes again, “when you’re a pilot, you’ll see that combat forces you to make decisions that don’t sit well afterward. No matter how many people you think you’ll save, there is always,  _ always _ , collateral. You have to live with the consequences. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

 

Zuko takes this in and nods, turning to his own room across the hall. As Katara sheds her layers left over from the day before, Zuko turns around to close his door. He sees the scarring across her body for the first time, mechanical lines and patterns across her right arm and ribcage, but it’s only when she turns to face him again that he realizes she’s stripped down to her sports bra and…

 

And…

 

_ Oh god-- _

 

He closes his door quickly, trying to act as if he wasn’t just  _ blatantly checking her out.  _ Across the hall, Katara closes her own door, noticing, not for the first time, that Zuko is  _ cute _ when he’s flustered. She’s not entirely sure what to do with that.

 

**********

 

Katara’s bo staff blocks her opponent’s hasty attack, and she easily pulls his momentum forward, leaving his side unguarded for a quick take-down. He lands on his back with a soft thud, the end of Katara’s staff hovering above his throat, but she’s not looking at him. 

 

“Four points to zero,” Zuko says, loud enough for both combatants and their small audience to hear. He is standing next to Iroh and marks down the score before looking back up to the mat. He avoids Katara’s stare.

 

She narrows her eyes and turns to the next opponent. He spins onto the mat, his staff a horizontal flurry around his torso, and Katara doesn’t bother choosing how to attack him-- she interrupts his show with a quick side attack, and their staffs cross four times in quick succession, until she jabs forward to lock his shoulders with her weapon and forces his face to the ground. She holds him there as she and Zuko regard each other. 

 

“Four points to one.”

 

She grits her teeth and turns to her next opponent, who adopts a rigid and strong opening stance. She settles into a loose stance, holding the staff like a sword, and waits for his attack. A few parries later, and she catches his leg, flipping him over and finishing another match with her staff at the man’s throat. She turns her head once again to catch Zuko’s stare, and he holds her eyes.

 

“Four points to two.” 

 

She exhales angrily and steps towards Zuko and Iroh.

 

“Okay, what? Is it the candidates? Or do you still not like how I fight, Mr. Mori?”

 

“Excuse me?” Zuko drops his clipboard to his side and steps to meet Katara’s path.

 

“Every time a match ends, you make a little face, like you’re critical of what you’re seeing.” She’s almost fuming now, and Zuko notices that sweat has just barely started to shine on her chest and forehead. 

 

“You could have taken all of them two moves earlier,” he responds cooly. 

 

“You think so?” She challenges.

 

“I know so.” Professionalism long forgotten, the two are almost toe-to-toe, and Zuko suddenly wonders what necklace falls beneath the white tank top that she’s wearing. 

 

She turns suddenly to look at Iroh. 

 

“Can we change this up? How about we give him a shot.”

 

Iroh’s usually kind eyes harden slightly, and he shakes his head.

 

“Only candidates with Drift compatibility--”

 

“Which I have, General,” Zuko cuts in quickly, looking at Iroh with a desperate expression.

 

“No, Zuko, you are impatient!” Iroh says harshly, “You have yet to master your emotions, and compatibility requires both a neural connection as well as physical compatibility. You will not have either.”

 

“What’s the matter, Generall?” Katara says, relaxing now into a casual stance, smirking at Iroh with a clear challenge, “Don’t think your best and brightest can hold up against me?”

 

Iroh sighs, knowing his battle is lost. 

 

“Go then.”

 

Zuko removes his jacket and sets the clipboard down, scores and other opponents forgotten. He easily catches the staff that Katara throws to him from across the mat. His black tank top matches his hair exactly, and Katara notes that it’s well fitted as he rolls his shoulders in a quick stretch.

 

“Remember,” she says quietly, calmer now that she's gotten her way, “it’s about compatibility. It’s a dialogue, not a fight. But I won’t dial down my moves.”

 

“Good,” he says, settling into an open stance an arm’s reach away from her, “then neither will I.”

 

They regard each other like predators, neither one moving. 

 

Katara takes the first quick strike, and Zuko doesn’t move, Katara’s staff suspended over the top of his head. 

 

“One-zero,” she says, her eyes smiling. Before she can step back, Zuko bats her staff out of the way with his own, and brings it down to her head, stopping before he makes contact.

 

“One-one” he replies.

 

He brings his staff back to his hip, like a sheathed sword, but Katara sees his left side unguarded and takes it. 

 

“Two-one,” she says smartly, and takes a step back to mirror his new opening stance. 

 

They regard each other for half a second before they attack simultaneously, and the dance begins. 

 

Their staffs are nearly a blur and their attacks follow each other the length of the mat, neither one decisively gaining or losing ground. If one changes attack style, the other reciprocates, until-

 

Katara freezes while pulling back for a strike, because Zuko’s staff is hovering between her eyes.

 

“Two-two,” he says in a neutral voice, but his eyes reflect her own friendly challenge, “better watch it.”

 

“Looks like we’re not that different, then,” Katara comments, low enough that he’s the only one that can hear.

 

He steps back and flicks his staff in a twirl, returning to a wide stance, but Katara switches to a one-handed style, and her attack starts off another round. His attacks are fiercer now, but Katara can hold her own, and when he catches his staff under her knees and flips her, she turns it into a roll, but not soon enough. 

 

She’s kneeling in front of him and his staff is poised for a hit to the neck. 

 

“Three-two,” he says, then continues, his voice low and his gaze intense, “And you’re right. But you rise with the moon. I rise with the sun.”

 

_ Okay _ , Katara thinks,  _ so he’s super dramatic _ , but she’s impressed, and enjoying this far more than she should be. She has a feeling that she’s not alone in that, either. He doesn’t seem like he smiles much, but his eyes are hungry, as if he’s waited to fight someone that can match him.  

 

_ “Zuko” _ , Iroh calls in Japanese from behind them, “ _ more control.”  _

 

He steps back, and she stands. She lunges at him and he parries quickly, but she’s got him on the defense and doesn’t relent until he lands on his stomach, and her staff rests on his neck.

 

“Three-three.”

 

He starts to get up as she takes a step back, but he catches her off guard when he flips into a move that looks almost like he’s breakdancing, and then her knee is caught by his legs and she’s caught off balance, but she blocks his first attack and spins to place herself behind him, but he recovers too quickly for her hit to land. 

 

They give the fight their all, knowing that this is the last point, but also testing each other’s limits, as if they’re already in the other’s head.

 

They push and pull with their attacks, they’re equals and they’re opposites as their staffs cross with force, and then--

 

He dives into a roll past her and catches her leg and, knocking her down, traps her in a leg hold with her staff. 

 

They’re both sweating now, and their eyes meet again, and he’s glancing down at her body caught beneath him, her leg trapped in his arm and--

 

“Enough,” Iroh says loudly, cutting off the smattering of applause from the audience that both had forgotten about. 

 

Zuko lets her out of the hold and rocks back, standing up and turning to face Iroh as Katara joins him. 

 

“I’ve seen what I needed to see,” Iroh says resolutely.

 

“So have I,” Katara says, looking at Zuko until he looks back, “He's my co-pilot.” He looks surprised and grateful, but Iroh rejects the notion. 

 

“No,” he says, “I’ve made my decision, Ms. Becket. Report to the Shatterdome hangar in two hours and find out who your co-pilot will be.” He turns to leave, and so does the rest of the audience. 

 

Katara sighs and looks to Zuko, but he’s already moving for his jacket and shoes before slipping out of the room. He looks ashamed. 

 

She catches up easily as he’s tying his boots down the hallway. 

 

“Hey, Zuko!” she jogs up to him, “What was all that about?”

 

He looks startled, and she wonders if it’s because she’s used his first name, but then his shoulders hunch in and he backs up the steps to one of the barrack rooms as Katara crowds in. 

 

“I mean, I’m not crazy, you felt that, right? We are Drift compatible!” she’s excited and nervous, and he’s looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. 

 

“Thank you for the fight,” he says, awkwardly, “but there is nothing to talk about,” and he turns to open the door behind him. 

 

Katara smiles and bites her lip, relaxing a bit as he struggles to open the door. 

 

“That’s uh...that’s my room.”

 

He jerks away from the handle like it burns, and if he wasn’t flushed before, he certainly is now. 

 

He shoulders past her, eyes wide, and she catches his arm.

 

“Zuko, wait, I thought you wanted to be a pilot?” she says, determined to get an answer out of him, “I...listen, I don’t know what he is to you, but you don’t just have to obey him, alright?”

 

His eyes close, and he responds quietly. 

 

“It’s not obedience, Ms. Becket. It’s honor.” and he pulls his arm from her hand and moves to his own door, not turning around when he closes it behind him. 

 

**********

 

Katara suits up in her own room, staring at an old picture of her and Sokka as kids. 

  
“I don’t know if you’d like him too much, Sokka,” she mutters to the picture, “he’s too...grumpy.”

 

But she remembers the laughter in his eyes when she challenged him, and the kindness that he has offered her, and almost wants to take her words back. 

 

She leaves for the hangar, but doubles back, walking cautiously towards Zuko’s room, raising a hand to knock. 

 

Inside, Zuko pulls back from the peephole, panicking, and running a hand through his hair to flatten it down. 

 

It doesn’t work. 

 

He narrows his eyes at his reflection in the mirror by the door, but tries to look happier when he opens the door after he hears the knock

 

Except it’s Iroh that’s standing in front of him, not Katara. 

 

“Oh,” Zuko says, startled, “ 叔父...”

 

_ Uncle _

 

Iroh bows to him, and Zuko returns it hastily, before stepping back so that Iroh can enter. 

 

He walks in and looks around slowly, before facing Zuko and raising up the object that he was holding.

 

“A long time ago,” Iroh begins, almost sadly, “I made a promise.” 

 

He unwraps the cloth, and inside lays a sheathed knife. 

 

Zuko doesn’t need to look at it to know what’s engraved on the metal blade. 

 

_ Never give up without a fight.  _

 

It’s a peace offering, and a promise fulfilled. 

 

_ Get ready,  _ Iroh says in Japanese, and Zuko was almost right-- he does look sad, but he also looks proud. 

  
  


**********

 

_Pilot two on board_ the PA announces, and Zuko steps into the cockpit of the Danger, wearing a newly made uniform, black, sleek, and well fitted. 

 

There are a few people in the cabin doing last minute checks and adjustments, but he doesn't notice them. 

 

Katara is standing by the left-side pilot apparatus, adjusting the controls above her harness to specify test mode. She doesn’t look at him.

 

“I’m gonna take this side, if that’s alright,” she says over her shoulder, eyes still fixed on the panels in front of her, “my right arm isn't too reliable anymore.”

 

Zuko thinks about the burns he saw across her ribs and arms.

 

“That’s alright,” he responds as casually as he can, and she turns around quickly, not expecting to recognize his voice, “My left eye isn’t that great either.”

 

She smiles, and it’s almost blinding. He doesn’t realize he’s almost smiling too. 

 

“You gonna say anything?” he says, and there’s that challenge again, like he can’t help himself, but she just laughs and shakes her head. 

 

“No point,” her grin twitches, as if she’s remembering an inside joke, and he thinks that her face was made to laugh, “you’re gonna be inside my head in five minutes. But...you do look good,” she nods at his uniform, “it suits you.”

 

“Thanks, Katara.”

 

They’re both smiling as they begin to prepare for the Drift.

 

Once they get the all-clear, they put their helmets on, and technicians ready their harnesses.  

 

“Zuko,” she starts, serious now, “the Drift has a way of pulling you in, taking control. The thoughts and memories that you’ll see, they’re gonna be from both of us, and it’s a lot to get used to. Don't chase the rabbit, alright? Let everything pass by. Look, but don't watch.”

 

He watches her as she says this, nodding as she finishes, and then they're told that it's time for startup. He puts his helmet on, and the two pilots turn away from each other, standing shoulder to shoulder now. 

 

From her earpiece, she hears  _ initiate neural handshake _ and then, for the first time in five years, she’s pulled into the Drift. 

 

**********

 

It’s a blur of images, but he can identify all of them. 

 

She’s making snow angels with her brother, they’re running on the rocky shore, and the water--

 

The water goes on forever--

 

He’s underwater with his sister, they’re young and something  _ hurts _ \--

 

He’s at a school desk and he’s not good at anything like his sister is, she always beats him--

 

Katara’s crying over her first ‘F’ but Sokka’s telling her it’s the best essay he’s ever read--

 

Katara’s in the arms of her father, and Sokka is reaching for their mother and they’re all smiling--

 

She’s standing next to Sokka at a double gravesite after the first Kaiju attack--

 

Zuko reaches for a man who left him behind and he can’t find mom--

 

But then he’s sitting at a lake next to her and they’re feeding the ducks and he giggles--

 

He’s in the rain, holding an umbrella and waiting for someone--

 

She can see his eyes, they’re so pretty--

 

They open their eyes together, pulling back into the physical world, and raise their hands as one into a fighting stance.

 

_ Both hemispheres calibrated _ the PA calls. 

 

They sigh in relief. It’s not done yet, but Katara knows that the handshake is usually the most difficult part. 

 

He feels her pride in him, and that she’s excited to pilot again. 

 

They shift through a series of defensive stances, the Drift allowing them to suggest, reject, and accept thoughts instantly. 

 

It’s a kind of intimate that Zuko has never experienced, and his self-built walls come down, brick by brick, as they Drift together. 

 

They continue to move as one, stretching the Danger for the first time since she was rebuilt.

 

_ Gipsy Danger calibration complete  _ they hear, and Katara looks over to Zuko on her right but she sees--

 

She sees  _ herself-- _

 

“Katara, listen to me!” It’s Sokka’s voice, coming from her, and she feels her own fear through the drift as he shouts, “It’s in the hull! You need--”

 

And he’s torn from her again, but this time she sees her own face as she feels the bones breaking and the blackness as her neck--

 

_ Snaps forward _ and she’s looking at Zuko on her right, but it was Sokka next to her, wasn’t it, and why was she in the right--

 

_ Pilot out of alignment’ _ a mechanical voice reports, and she gasps as she tries to center herself back in the present.

 

“I’m ok, let me control it,” she gasps, steadying herself.

 

“You’re stabilizing, but Zuko’s way out!” The tech calls in her ear, “You gotta pull him back!”

 

She finally notices that Zuko isn’t moving, and his eyes are staring ahead, vacant. 

 

“He’s chasing the rabbit Katara!” the tech yells, but she ignores him. 

 

“Zuko,” she says, trying to sound calm, looking at him intently, but held back from moving by her harness, “Zuko, don’t get stuck in a memory. Stay with me. Stay in the now.”

 

But he doesn’t hear her, and she can hardly hear herself. 

 

“Zuko, come on, listen to me,” she’s calling, but he’s looking into the silence, the blackness, as he notices the heat beneath his bare feet, and the knife in his hands…

 

It’s the hottest day of summer, and he’s in an old room, and he knows somehow that his mother has just walked outside. 

 

He’ll never see her again. 

 

He’s holding the knife that she gave him, she had kissed him on the forehead when she had told him that it was hers, that she had engraved the words herself. 

 

But she’s gone now, and he has the knife, and suddenly it’s the next day as the Kaiju named Onibaba attacks Tokyo, and his father is reaching for him, to save him, but-- wait, no--

 

Zuko’s pushed out of the way as his father grabs his sister, and he carries her through a doorway, and Zuko’s in the street but he’s holding the knife and--

 

Onibaba rounds the corner, the street’s deserted now--

 

Katara, unseen by the young boy, watches as he cries alone, clutching the small knife, not running, not giving up without a fight--

 

Onibaba is taken down by a Jaeger, and a single pilot steps out, having seen the child. 

 

Zuko can’t see out of his left eye, it hurts so much, he thinks there was a fire when he fell as Onibaba had charged at him, but he sees a Jaeger, and he sees a man silhouetted at the top. 

 

Katara sees that it’s Iroh, younger, and her heart hurts for them both. 

 

“Gipsy Danger offline” she hears someone yelling as she’s taken out of the memory. 

 

She tears her helmet off and disengages herself from her harness, running to Zuko, catching him when he slumps forward. 

 

She pulls his helmet off as they collapse to the floor, and his gaze is confused and sluggish. 

 

She holds him as he comes to, people beginning to swarm around them. 

 

“It’s ok,” she says, breathing heavily as his head rolls to rest on her arm, “I’ve got you.”

 

They both have tears on their faces, but neither one notices. 

 

Iroh watches from the command center, worried.

 

********

 

Zuko and Katara are later told that, while they were stuck in Zuko’s memory, he had thrown his hand up. It had engaged the weapons system, and the plasma gun had powered up. Luckily, they had been pulled out by someone disconnecting the Danger’s power source, but not many people trusted the Danger pilots now. 

 

When they hear this, Zuko has a sudden urge to leap headfirst into the breach.

 

No such luck, however, as he’s standing with Katara outside of Iroh’s office, waiting their turn. She keeps glancing over at him. 

 

He’s staring at a dent on the wall, and trying not to think about the voices coming from the room. 

 

“He can’t control his Drift and she went out of phase first!”

 

It’s that goddamn Australian that’s been sneering at Katara ever since she got here. 

 

She’s pacing in front of Zuko, who’s doing his best imitation of a statue, and she’s breathing heavily.

 

“I know what happened,” Iroh says, his voice cool even through the muffled door, “we were all there.”

 

“She’s a has-been and he’s a rookie!” Chuck shouts back--  _ what an asshat, _ Katara thinks to herself _ \-- _ and he continues, “I don’t want them protecting my bomb run, sir.”

 

Katara’s never heard someone say ‘sir’ with as much sarcasm and contempt as just now, and she’s rolling her eyes as she continues pacing back across the hallway. 

 

Suddenly, the door opens, and Chuck storms out, as if he’s been asked to leave. His father and co-pilot, Hercules, closes the door behind him with a pointed look. 

 

Zuko finally moves, stepping up to Katara’s side as Chuck wheels around to face them, seething.

 

“You two are a goddamn disgrace, and you’re gonna get us all killed.” 

 

His voice is hard and there’s hatred in it as he stares them down. 

 

“Here’s the thing Katarina,” he says, knowing that that’s not her name and sneering through his whole speech, “I quite like my life, and I wanna come back from this mission, yeah? So why don’t you two do us all a favor and just disappear. Maybe disappear together, that’d make you happy, eh?” 

 

He’s flicking his eyes between them, but Katara can’t even respond before Zuko shifts beside her--

 

“I’m never happy” he growls, and  _ God _ that’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard, and she’ll definitely give him hell for it later, but right now--

 

She touches his arm before he can move forward even more, and Chuck catches it--

 

“So the bitch carries the leash, that right?”

 

He doesn’t even see her fist before it catches him squarely in the face, and he’s falling backward, crumpling to his knees, but she doesn’t stop. She punches him again and he spits blood.

 

“Apologize,” She says harshly, looking down at him. 

 

“Screw you,” he swings wildly and she ducks easily, catching his wrist and yanking his arm around behind his body. 

 

He’s trying to punch her as he twists out of the hold, but he can hardly catch her, she’s practically running circles around him, tripping him and using his wild punches to lead his momentum away from her until she swings him into a nearby wall. She’s put all of her force into the motion, and the pipe that he lands against busts open, steam pouring out as he yells in pain. 

 

“I said,” she bites out, “apologize.”

 

He gets back up and practically snarls, advancing again, but she looks almost bored as she bats his hands away from her, his movements projecting his attacks and his body tiring, and Katara takes him down easily into an arm-lock, slamming his face into the metal grate that they were standing on.

 

Zuko watches, eyes wide. He would have joined, of course, but she didn’t seem to need any help, and besides....he rather liked watching her move. 

 

Iroh and Chuck run into the hall, the fight is broken up, and the pair is called into Iroh’s office. However they were going to be handled before, Zuko thinks it’s just gotten worse. 

 

**********

 

“I went out of phase first,” Katara insists, “it was my mistake.”

 

She’s on the edge of her seat, and Zuko’s beside her. His posture is rigid, but his head is bowed slightly. His face is shadowed. 

 

“No,” Iroh replies, his back to them both. “It was mine.” 

 

He turns to face them, walking across his office. 

 

“I should have never let you two in the same machine.”

 

“So, what?” Katara says, desperate now, “You’re grounding us? You need us in the Danger, Iroh.”

 

“No,” Iroh sighs, “I’m not grounding  _ you _ .”

 

Katara inhales sharply as she realizes what he means, and Zuko stands up slowly next to her. 

 

There’s a quiver in his voice as he speaks softly. 

 

“Permission to be dismissed, sir.”

 

Zuko and Iroh look at each other, years of history passing between them. 

 

“Permission granted, Mr. Mori.”

 

Zuko bows to Iroh, and begins to walk out. 

 

“Zuko--” Katara starts, and he turns back to her briefly, but their eyes don’t quite meet before he leaves the room. 

 

“Sir,” she turns back to Iroh again, rocking forward, “what are you doing? He is the strongest candidate by far, and it wasn’t our connection that was the problem!”

 

She shoots out of her chair, and the metal legs scrape against the concrete as she approaches him. 

 

“Zuko is too inexperienced to reign in his memories during combat,” Iroh says, beginning to walk past Katara.

 

“Then  _ give  _ him experience sir, please…” she hesitates and then quieter, “and that’s not why you grounded him, anyway. I was in his memories. I saw everything.”

 

She saw a young boy, abandoned with a knife in his hand, rescued by a Jaeger pilot with hope in his eyes. 

 

“I know what he means to you,” and she does. She knows how deep their connection is, that Iroh is Zuko’s chosen family, and that Iroh can’t bear to lose the boy that he saved. 

 

“You rescued him. Raised him,” she continues in his silence, “I get it. But you’re not protecting him now. You’re holding him back, and you know that he’ll do anything to become a pilot.”

 

She’s seen this too, that he’s held this goal for so long and he can’t let it go, not yet.

 

“This conversation is over, Ms. Becket.” 

 

Iroh walks out of the room, not looking at her. 

 

Katara sighs, and has a strong urge to throw something. 

 

Instead, she leaves to find Zuko. 

 

********

 

She’s walking through the mess hall with a tray of food when the assembly goes quiet. She looks around too and sees that their attention is split between her and Zuko, standing at the top of the stairs across from her. Their eyes meet, and they turn as one out of the hall and into the Jaeger bay. 

 

She catches up to him as he finds a secluded balcony that looks out over the Gipsy Danger, currently undergoing some final modifications. He’s sitting with his legs folded under him at the edge of the walkway, and she he sits down so that she’s partially facing him, her back leaning against the corner of the wall. She catches his eye.

 

“I’m sorry,” she says softly, leaning towards him. “I should have warned you. First Drifts are rough, but you weren’t just tapping into my memories, you were tapping into my brother’s too.”

 

He’s watching her intently, waiting.

 

“When Sokka was taken,” she continues, and it’s harder to say this that she thought it would be, “we were still connected. I felt his fear, his pain, his helplessness, and then…”

 

She looks out at the Danger now, and it’s harder to breathe. 

 

“Then he was gone.”

 

Zuko’s still looking at her. 

 

“I felt it,” he says, “I know.”

 

Her eyes close.

 

“You know, you live in someone else’s head for so long, the hardest part to deal with is the silence. To let someone else in, to really connect, you have to trust them.” She’s looking at him again, and his face is soft, and kind. She wonders if anyone has seen this side in him before.  

 

“Today,” she says, “the Drift was strong.” She’s smiling now, noticing that he’s wearing a burgundy sweater that looks obscenely comfortable, and she’s still not over the revelation that this pilot, so critical of her at first is actually kind of a  _ dork _ \--

 

He smiles back, and she’s looking at his lips now. 

 

“Can I see your necklace?” 

 

Her heart skips a beat. 

 

“How did you--?”

 

“I saw it earlier, when we were sparring,” he says softly, “But then I saw it in the Drift too.” 

 

She smiles sadly and pulls the chain from her shirt. He catches the charm that swings from the end. 

 

It’s round and made of a metal that he thinks is tinted blue. On the surface, there are three waves that curl back into themselves, and he knows where it’s from but asks anyway.

 

“Would you tell me about it?”

 

He’s still holding the necklace as his eyes flick back to hers, and she thinks they’ve moved closer together. 

 

“It was my grandmother’s,” she starts, “In my culture, these necklaces are given as engagement promises. It’s the last thing I have of hers, and Sokka…” She takes a deep breath to steady herself, “Sokka used to keep it on the Danger with us. It was our good luck charm, he’d always say. She was protecting us.” She falters again, and looks out to where the Jaeger rests. 

 

“They managed to recover it from the wreckage, somehow. I’ve never let it out of my sight since.” 

 

She offers Zuko a sad smile, and he releases the charm, his fingers brushing her skin, and her heart is definitely stuttering a bit now as his eyes follow the chain of the necklace down to where it now rests under her jacket.

 

“Thank you for telling me,” He says, his voice hoarse, and then he’s standing up and walking away, his lunch tray forgotten. Katara leans back into the wall and takes a shaky breath. 

 

She’s never had to deal with Drifting with someone she’s attracted to before. 

 

**********

 

Iroh keeps his promise, and they’re grounded when two Kaiju come through the breach. 

 

They’re nicknamed Leatherback and Otachi, and the Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha Jaegers are sent to meet them. Striker Eureka, the Australian Jaeger, is told to perform back-up.

 

Zuko and Katara wait to the side of the command center, watching as the triplets of the Typhoon are taken down, and then the Russians of Cherno, and then, as Striker engages without Iroh’s approval, Leatherback discharges a massive electrical pulse from its back, and the whole command center powers down.

 

The techs panic, telling Iroh that the aftereffects of the charge will take at least two hours to sort out, and the Jaegers are all fried, because they’re all digital, but--

 

“Not all of them, sir,” Katara interjects, Zuko right behind her, “Gipsy’s Analog. Nuclear.”

 

Iroh looks at her, and at Zuko, and he nods. 

 

“Suit up.”

 

**********

 

The second Drift works better than the first, and Zuko’s so focused on getting to the Kaiju that Katara’s heart rate goes up. They both ignore the memories that pass

 

“Calm down, hot-shot,” she says to him, trying to stabilize herself, “no point wasting our energy now.”

 

They’re airlifted out of the Shatterdome, and they see two small lights in the distance. 

 

The Kaiju. Otachi disappears into the water, slithering its way towards Hong Kong. 

 

Leatherback is circling a motionless Striker, but it whips around when the Gipsy Danger is dropped into the water, a monster wave crashing over the beast. 

 

“Hello, beautiful,” Katara mutters, and they attack. 

 

The Kaiju, gorilla-like, leaps towards the Danger, but Katara sees that it uses its strength only, no skill. 

 

“Men,” she mutters, and she leads Zuko to duck under the Kaiju’s flailing arm, locking the Danger’s arm at the Kaiju’s hip to hold it down as Zuko wrestles the glowing bulb at the back of its neck off of its head. They’re both struggling to keep it down, but after Zuko flings the blue pouch out into the water, the Kaiju rips free of their hold and slams backward into them, turning meanwhile to tackle them from the front. It wraps its massive arms around the Jaeger’s middle, crushing it into what could almost be considered a hug, until he whips them in a massive circle and flings them towards the coast.

 

Zuko and Katara experience the surreal weightlessness that comes with flying in a 7,000-ton suit of armour.

 

They land in the shipyard, far outside of the city, but they can’t control their momentum, and they crash through shipping containers and grounded boats until they can flip around, digging their feet into the broken cement a sliding to a halt. 

 

Leatherback hauls its ugly body out of the water, roaring, then charges at the Danger on all fours. 

 

“Let’s do this, Zuko!” Katara yells, “Together!” 

 

And so they charge. 

 

They meet the Kaiju with a roaring crash, and they’re thrown back by its momentum. Katara reaches for the armored plates on the back of its head and yanks it closer as its arms pummel into the Danger’s legs, but Zuko pulls his arm back and yells, “elbow rocket!” 

 

Their right arm slams into the Kaiju’s face over and over again, and it’s starting to slow, but then it falls backwards, into a pile of metal containers the size of small houses. They can’t intercept it before it’s picking up a handful and smashing them into the Danger’s head, knocking them back. 

 

They’re already unsteady as the Kaiju continues to hit them erratically with an unparalleled amount of force, and they can hardly keep up, until, as one, they close their fists and slam the Kaiju’s face between their hands. 

 

As it shakes its head, stunned, they knock into it, grabbing its neck and engaging the plasma cannon on Zuko’s arm.

 

“Fire now!” Katara yells, and Zuko’s all too happy to oblige, “Empty the clip!”

 

He fires one blast into the Kaiju’s chest, then shoves his arm into the cavity that opens, each shot reverberating through the monster’s body as it disintegrates in front of them, its arm falling off and its ribs now visible, covered only in the melted remains of its guts.

 

Katara and Zuko stand, shoving the corpse off of their Jaeger, and begin to walk away, breathing heavily.

 

“Wait,” Zuko says, “I think its dead, but...let’s check for a pulse.”

 

He sounds serious, but Katara can feel that he’s exhilarated with his first true kill. 

 

“Alright,” she smirks, and they turn together to fire three more shots into Leatherback’s limp gut, its body shaking like a neon jello, and Zuko smiles when its head finally oozes bright blue blood. 

 

“No pulse,” he reports, almost sounding happy, and she shakes her head, hiding a smile, and helicopters circle them as they turn into the city to find Otachi. 

 

But not before they stoop to grab a grounded freighter, longer than the Danger is tall...just in case. 

 

**********

 

They walk through the empty streets, finally turning a corner to see the other Kaiju clawing at the ground. 

 

It turns when it notices them, its alien eyes locking on, and Katara lifts the freighter up, their hands holding it like a sword. 

 

As Otachi charges, Zuko thinks about the first time he sparred with Katara, with the bo staff.

 

She smiles wryly at the thought, and they swing the ship overhead. They slam it into the Kaiju’s neck and back, and the beast crumbles in front of them, but swipes at their legs with an agility that neither had seen before. They continue hurling the ship in wide, swinging crosses in front of them, and it connects with Otachi’s head, every blow shocking their own arms with the force until--

 

The ship is ripped from their hand by the monster’s claw-tail, and Zuko yells in frustration.

 

Its tail easily throws the ship some 15 blocks to their left, and they’re forced to abandon it as the tail whips around again and pummels the Danger in the stomach, throwing them back into a nearby building. 

 

Jostled, they grab the building to support them as they stand, falling immediately into a sprint back to Otachi, but they’re forced dodge the spray of liquid the Kaiju shoots, eyes widening as the building that the liquid hits disintegrates.

 

It shoots acid  _ and _ has a claw tail. 

 

“That’s not fair!” Zuko yells at no one in particular, and Katara agrees, so of course they do the logical thing--

 

Their right hand plunges down the Kaiju’s throat, closing around the bright blue gland at the back of its mouth, planning to rip it out, but they suddenly raise their left hand to block that  _ goddamn tail _ \--

 

The claw wraps around Danger’s forearm, and they’re being pulled apart, one hand deep in its throat, and the other caged by the tail, but Katara yells to Zuko, “hold the arm for me!” as she keys a command into her control panel. 

 

The reactor coolant vents from the Danger’s ribs, encasing and freezing the still thrashing tail, and Zuko then yanks his arm out of the hold, shattering the whole appendage. 

 

“That’s one down!” Katara yells to him, as she takes the right arm and twists the acid gland, digging in and clawing it out of Otachi’s mouth.

 

“And that’s two!” Zuko shouts back.

 

But maybe they’ve spoken too soon, because Otachi tackles them, feet first, wrapping its large talons around Danger’s waist and digging in, metal splintering and lights wavering around them as it looms over them.

 

Suddenly, the Kaiju unfurls a pair of massive wings and makes to take off, because  _ of course it does. _

 

“Oh good,” says Katara through her grunt of pain, “the thing flies!”

 

It takes off unevenly, having no tail to stabilize its flight, but climbs higher and higher, and she can't help but compare it to a great oversized bat--

 

“Pterodactyl,” Zuko adds, unhelpfully.

 

She glowers through her helmet at the Kaiju, and she gives up on trying to get it to release them, instead trying to stabilize herself in the shaking harness.

 

_ Atmosphere loss in progress, _ the AI voice in the Danger informs them, and Katara stifles a scream. 

 

“The sword, Zuko!” she yells, “Use the sword!”

 

He lunges for the command panel, and she feels a smugness from him, but she’s not sure why--

 

The sword drops from their right forearm, the sections aligning to form the solid weapon, and suddenly, Katara understands. 

 

Flame licks the steel, emerging from around each metal segment. 

 

“ _ For my mother,”  _ he whispers in Japanese. 

 

Together, they heave their arm around and sink it into Otachi’s wing, slicing through meat and bone, severing the arm, and then forcing it down into the Kaiju’s heart. 

 

It’s a long way to fall, and they’re both scared out of their minds, but somehow they make it.

 

They land in a soccer stadium, and the impact shock wave levels the building, but they’re fine, they’re together, and they get a radio call that the support helicopters are coming to them. They disconnect from the Danger and look at each other, moving together, as if they’re still drifting.

 

“Well done,” Katara says, and she’s grinning so wide that it hurts.

 

“You too,” and his excitement and relief leaks into his voice. 

 

She turns to the ladder that will bring her to the roof of the Danger, where the helicopters will pick them up, but pauses. 

 

“Oh, by the way,” she says, turning back to him and smirking, “I  _ really  _ like the new sword.”

 

**********

 

People are cheering for them as they land back at the Shatterdome, and it’s Zuko’s first experience with this kind of presence. People are crowding in on them as they walk down the hallway, and his shoulder keeps knocking into Katara’s. When he looks down at her, she smiles up at him, and he notices again how good she looks in the pilot armor. They converge with another crowd in the mess hall, and they’re pushed closer together. 

 

She stumbles into him a little, and her hand goes to his arm, which he automatically moves to her waist to steady her which--

 

_ Bad idea _ , he thinks wildly as he looks into her eyes, they’re too close for this many people to be here, everyone should leave immediately--

 

“Ms. Becket!” he hears called from the crowd, "Mr. Mori!” 

 

They step away from each other, her hand falling back to her side as they turn to face Iroh. 

 

The crowd parts for him as he strides towards them. 

 

“In all of my years of fighting,” he says, “I’ve never seen anything like that.” His eyes are smiling, and Katara wonders who he would be without a war. 

 

“Well done, both of you,” he continues, and then he looks directly at Zuko. “I’m proud of you.” 

 

Zuko doesn’t flush, but Katara can see that, for the first time in a long while, he’s proud of himself. She gently slips her hand into his and squeezes, and he doesn’t look at her, but he smiles enough for her to see. 

 

It’s sobering, then, when Iroh reminds the crowded room that two crews were lost today with their Jaegers, but they have to continue with their original plan regardless. 

 

He squeezes her hand back as Iroh leaves the room. With the Gipsy Danger, they are humanity’s last hope. 

 

**********

 

Except things don’t always go according to plan, and they learn that Herc’s arm was injured and he can’t pilot the Striker anymore. 

 

Zuko and Katara are waiting in the main hangar as Chuck stalks by, yelling for someone to explain why he’s supposed to be suiting up if he doesn’t have a co-pilot.

 

“You do have a co-pilot, Mr. Hansen.”

 

Iroh steps out of the cargo elevator in a white pilot suit, and that’s when Katara realizes that the ‘chubby old man’ image that she had always harbored was...a little off. 

 

He’s built like a small mountain, and Zuko must have noticed her surprise because he whispers to her, “he’s worked out every day of his life, but only when no one’s looking.”

 

“Huh,” she says, still stunned, “who knew?”

 

Iroh walks over to them, and she doesn’t think she’ll get used to the image of him in the rather skin-tight armor any time soon, but then she sees Zuko’s face. 

 

He looks pained. 

 

He jogs up to Iroh before he nears the group.

 

“ _ Uncle _ ,” he says in a worried voice, “You can’t get into that Jaeger. The radiation from your fights in the old Jaegers...you won’t survive.”

 

“You never know,” Iroh replies, placing his hand on Zuko’s shoulders, “Today, I think destiny is our friend.”

 

“Zuko,” he continues, now cupping his scarred cheek, “You are a brave man, and I’m glad to have watched you grow. And if I’m going to do this...I want you there to protect me. Can you do that?”

 

Zuko’s face crumples, but he nods all the same, and as Iroh walks away, Katara walks up and places a hand on his back, comforting him in this impossible circumstance. 

Hours later, they’re back in the Danger, and initiating the Drift. 

 

Quads of helicopters carry Eureka Striker and Gipsy Danger to the drop site in the Guam quadrant, and they’re released into the Ocean. They move through the water, walking on a rough downhill slope towards the cliffs that the breach had created. A scientist takes over the radio then, telling them that they can’t get the bomb into the breach without it being “accepted.”

 

And for it to be accepted, it has to read as a Kaiju. 

 

“So we put the bomb through the breach...in a Kaiju?” Katara asks in disbelief.

 

“Great,” Zuko mutters, “there’s absolutely no way  _ this _ can go wrong.”

 

And Katara does sense a growing anxiety from Zuko, but...it’s not about the Kaiju. 

 

“Everything good?” She glances over at him, concerned.

 

“I-- I don’t like water much. Not in ocean-sized amounts.” He sounds snippy, like it’s not something he likes to share. 

 

“Really?” she says, amazed, “I’ve always loved the water! And the snow. I’ve always just felt connected to it,” but then she’s thinking about Sokka, and the water that she fell into after--

 

After--

 

“Yes, well,” he replies, shooting a hard glance her way, “I’ve always preferred fire. And heat.”

 

“Oh,” she says casually, with a hint of laughter, “is that why you’re so angry all the time? Gotta live up to the whole fire stereotype?”

 

“How could you say that?” He complains, sounding betrayed, but she’s laughing, and then--

 

“Hey guys,” a tech says through their earpieces, “we can still hear you.”

 

Zuko fumes, but Katara laughs again, and she sees him fighting a smile. 

 

They continue their descent, following Striker, and then they’ve reached the first drop-off. Before they jump, one of the scientists tells them that the two category 4 Kaijus that come out of the breach hours ago, codenamed Scunner and Raiju, are still there. They haven’t left the breach at all, and Katara privately thinks that they’re waiting for something. 

 

They jump down the cliffside, Striker pulling ahead of them, and then--

 

“Striker, Danger...there’s another Kaiju coming through the breach. It’s a Category 5. The first ever.”

 

Striker’s standing at the last drop to the glowing breach as the Danger closes in, but they stop breathing as the new Kaiju drifts up, over the edge, and into view. 

 

It’s a damn leviathan, massive and tentacled, almost looking like a cross between a hammerhead and a giant squid, but with the addition of four massive arms along its meaty torso. 

 

“Hang on, Striker!” Katara yells, and they start to run forward,  "We’re right behind you! We’ll come up on your three o’clock, try to flank it, standard two-team formation--”

 

But then there’s movement on their left flank, and they whip around to intercept Scunner’s stealth attack, locking the beast’s jaw in their arms and quickly headbutting it. The Kaiju’s knocked down, but its momentum continues forward, and Katara shoves it along, wrapping their left arm around its neck in a chokehold. Zuko activates the sword in the right arm, raising it to plunge it into Scunner’s head--

 

They scream together as their arm is ripped off by Raiju, the phantom pain of it shooting up to their shoulder as their side is crippled, and they can’t catch themselves, and soon Scunner is lashing around in their remaining arm to free itself, using its horns to knock their balance off, and then it latches its mouth around their right knee and  _ twists _ , and they can’t move, their legs give out--

 

Katara activates the left-hand sword, sinking it into the Kaiju’s head, and together, they shift its body to a near hot water vent.

 

Its scream is muffled by the water as half of its face melts off, but before they can kill it, Chuck yells to them from Striker, “Gipsy, Raiju’s coming up on your twelve o’clock! Get out of the way!”

 

“No luck!” Katara yells back, and they pull the sword from Scunner’s skull and turn around as best they can. 

 

Raiju is speeding towards them, and its tri-paneled mouth opens to reveal its true head, and Katara and Zuko lift their sword arm in a kind of salute.

 

Raiju barrels directly into it, and they lock their elbows back, holding the sword vertically now, as they split Raiju’s body in two.

 

The neon blue blood spills around them like smoke, and they’re breathing heavily as they turn to look at Striker in the distance, still fighting the Category 5, Slattern.

 

Chuck yells the bad news, “The release is jammed! We’re still armed, but we can’t drop the payload anytime soon!”

 

As Slattern winds up for another devastating blow, Striker leaps towards it, sharp claws at the ends of its arms, and lands both hits at the Kaiju’s neck. 

 

It recoils, shrieking, as blood billows out around it, and then releases a scream that pulses in their brains, the ocean floor vibrating. 

 

300 meters away, Sculler turns from Danger, and makes to join Slattern. 

 

“Shit,” whispers Katara, and they start moving to Striker, but their right leg is crippled at the knee and they’re using their left sword as a crutch, “Hang on, Striker, We’re coming to you!”

 

“No!” yells Iroh, “Stay as far back as you can!”

 

“We can still reach you!” says Zuko, desperation clawing into his voice, “We’re coming for you!”

 

But there’s so much distance between them, and Katara knows that they can’t keep this up for much longer--

 

“Katara,” Iroh says and his voice is calm, if weary, “You know what must be done. Gipsy is nuclear. Take her to the breach.”

 

She screws her eyes shut and knocks her head against the harness behind her, suddenly feeling very small. 

 

“I hear you, sir,” she says, “heading for the breach.”

 

Zuko’s looking at her, anger and fear written across his face.

 

“Zuko,” Iroh says, and Zuko snaps his head forward, as if trying to find Striker’s silhouette in the water, “Listen to me, my nephew. You can finish this. I’ll always be here for you. Look within yourself, and you will always find me in the Drift.”

 

“Yes,  叔父,” he says, his voice unsteady as his shoulders shake.

 

_ Yes, uncle _ . 

 

Katara’s looking at him, determined, but scared, too. 

 

“We’re a walking nuclear reactor,” she says, and he meets her gaze. She can see tears there. 

 

“We can destroy the breach.” 

 

He nods strongly, but his eyes show pain beyond belief. 

 

“Together,” he says, and they lower themselves into a strong stance, sword planted in the ground, and just before the two remaining Kaiju reach Striker--

 

“せんせいあいしてます” Zuko mutters, and Striker detonates. 

 

The blast is massive, and Zuko and Katara lose themselves in the aftermath, unsure of how far they’ve moved, if at all. Random projectiles slam into the Danger, and Katara closes her eyes against the sudden flash of light. 

 

Then, suddenly, there’s silence, and she looks at Zuko in surprise and wonder--

 

They’re slammed forward as a wall of water returns, and this time they can’t brace themselves, and they’re swept forward, only digging into the ground about 50 meters away from the cliffside of the breach. 

 

_ All systems critical _ , the AI informs them, and Katara catches her breath for a moment, then looks at Zuko, determined. 

 

“Let’s finish this.”

 

They start to turn back to search for the corpse of Raiju, but before they can--

 

_ Slam _ .

 

Slattern, the Category 5, survived the blast, but just barely. 

 

It’s angry, but in as bad of shape as the Danger is, and is now between them and the breach.

 

Katara gets a stupid idea, and she thinks it’s from Sokka. 

 

“Rear jets on three!” Katara yells, and Zuko fumbles with the control panel.

 

“One!” Slattern has begun lumbering towards them, shrieking.

 

“Two!” Katara raises the sword arm to prepare for impact. 

 

“ _ Three!”  _ The rear jets kick in, and they’re slammed forward, tackling Slattern into the breach as their sword plunges into its neck.

 

They’re falling with the Kaiju, and its three tails whip around to pierce into Danger’s back. 

 

Zuko and Katara are both yelling, but holding the sword steady as they fall---

 

Arcs of lightning are passing between them and the breach, they’re closing in--

 

Slattern lets out a final, weak, roar as they twist the sword through its head, and its body goes limp but they pull it closer as--

 

They pass through the breach. 

 

Their faces are washed with brilliant colors as they pass through an alien landscape.

 

They’re drifting, electricity still arcing between the Danger and the tendrils of strangely fleshy material that reaches towards them. They pull the sword out of Slattern’s neck, and heave the corpse away from the Jaeger. 

 

Zuko and Katara are falling together, and they share a heavy look as Katara speaks back to the command center.

 

“Initiating reactor override now.” She keys in the command, but--

 

“Shit!” she hisses, “it’s offline! I have to do it manually!”

 

She looks at Zuko again, and she makes a decision. His oxygen levels are dropping, hers are too, 

 

“Zuko, I’m gonna eject you, I can do this alone,” her voice is soft as his eyes widen, “All I gotta do is fall. Anyone can fall.”

 

“No,” he gasps-- _ Never give up without a fight-- _ and he tears himself from his harness before she can override the eject, “I won’t leave you down here to die alone. I’ll get the reactor; you make sure we’re still positioned to get out.” 

 

He steps towards her, and she’s forgetting how to breathe, he’s staring at her with a burning intensity as his hand raises to cup the glass of her helmet--

 

“You’ve piloted her solo already, Katara,” he whispers, “I know you can do it again.”

 

And then he’s gone, and she’s  _ pissed _ , but she drags the sword through the space around them to angle their descent, keeping their head towards the breach as he fights his way to the reactor switch.

 

The electric arcs continue to shimmer around her, as if carrying the Danger to its location.

 

They pass through what looks like a heart valve, and  soon enough, the AI calls out  _ manual override detected _ , and Katara holds her breath until Zuko heaves himself back up onto the deck. They’re hovering over a whole city of Kaiju, but he hardly spares a second to take it in, instead running back to his harness. But then--

 

A massive electrical arc leaps towards the Danger, and Zuko lunges over to Katara’s controls, slamming the eject button before she can react, and she’s shot out of the Danger, back through the valve, and she can’t see much from the pod but she’s screaming his name and looking for him to follow, but when she’s pulled back through the breach, it’s so dark and all of her air is gone, and--

 

She can’t see anything--

 

She can’t--

 

Her world goes black as the pressure change causes her to pass out.

 

**********

 

When she wakes up, she’s dazed. Then, when she remembers what happened, she panics, pulling the safety lever, and the top half of the cover shoots off. She sits up straight as she gulps in large breaths of the salty air, shielding her eyes from the bright sun as she scans the horizon for a second pod.

 

“Katara!” the tech says in her ear, “Katara, can you hear me?”

 

“Y- yeah,” she says, trying to steady her voice.

 

“Zuko’s pod isn’t up yet. He ejected from the Danger after you, but we’re not getting any vitals from him.”

 

Her body freezes as an icy fear shoots through her. 

 

_ No-- _

 

And then there’s a splash behind her, and his pod has surfaced. She dives immediately into the water, swimming with powerful strokes to his pod. 

 

She climbs easily up, looking into the thick window and straddling the cold metal.

 

He’s not moving. 

 

She thinks she’s crying as she forces the switch open, the top half shooting off into the ocean. 

 

She rips her glove off and places her hand at his neck, checking for a pulse. 

 

Nothing.

 

“I don’t- I can’t find a pulse,” she tells the tech shakily, “I- he doesn’t have a pulse.”

 

She grabs him under the shoulders and hauls him into her arms, burying her face in his neck. 

 

His body is still warm, burning, actually, and Katara pretends that this is their first hug.

 

“Zuko-” she breathes into his ear, her eyes screwed shut, “please-”

 

She’s stranded in the water, and she’s starting to see why Zuko hates the ocean so much, it’s taken away everything she’s ever loved--

 

“You’re squeezing me too tight.”

 

She freezes, her silent sobs stopping abruptly as she gasps sharply.

 

She pulls back, and his eyes open--

 

_ They open-- _

 

And then he’s smiling at her and coughing a little as he says “I couldn’t breathe because you were holding me too tight.”

 

And she’s crying again, they both are, but he finally wraps his arms around her, and he’s clutching her to his chest and she shoves her hand into his hair to hold his head in the crook of her neck, and it’s not very comfortable, but it’s  _ perfect-- _

 

A fleet of helicopters approaches overhead, and Katara shouldn’t be able to hear him over the din, but she does.

 

“Thank you, Katara,” he whispers.

 

“I think I’m the one who should be thanking you,” she says, equally as soft, as she pulls back just far enough to look at him. 

 

Blue eyes meet gold, and her hand shifts down from his hair to his face, lightly covering his scar.

 

He closes his eyes, as if at peace, and she leans up and ever so gently brushes her lips against his. 

 

Zuko starts to see why Katara likes the water so much. 

 

**********

**Author's Note:**

> Happy super late Zutara Week, the fan base lives on! Visit me on tumblr if you will, same username!


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